Late last week anxiety had me trapped in its claws and I could barely move. As my heart beat a million times a minute I couldn’t help by ask myself why and how I get myself into situations exactly like this one.
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My parents are collectors of things. Not any particular thing, just things in general. They quite literally have 5 of everything. All of their closets – full, the basement – full, the sheds on their land – full, the barn – full, the garage – full. They have built lofts and cabins only to fill them with stuff. In their defense, their collections happen to be antiques and will bring in money when they sell. I’m not quite sure why they both need to have so much stuff.
As I become older “stuff” stresses me out. I still find myself in shopping urges; kind of contradicting to say the least but true all the same. My shopping urges usually bring me to buy a Buddha statue or lip gloss, maybe an article of clothing or two but it has to stop!
It wouldn’t be bad if it were just me, if I only had to deal with my things I could do that. But I am not longer just a me. I come with a husband and some mini me’s, not to mention the roommate. All of us have our things separately and then things together and it has become TOO much.
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I believe in fate, things happen for reasons in my world. As I sat down last week, crippled with fear that our “stuff” would creep out of the closets/bedrooms/shelves and slowly suffocate us I saw something that made me feel instantly better. One of my fellow Fierce Sisters posted a picture on Instagram. I simple picture of a building with flowers in pots in front of it. The caption said, “collect moments, not things”.
It’s so simple, yet SO effective. I learned from my parents to keep everything. You need a thing to go with a moment to remind you of that moment. You even need things without moments because, well, you just do, ok? When we go visit my grandmother she always has things she wants to give me, my mother always tells me to take them because “you don’t want to make her feel bad”. But here it is, the simple truth I needed to hear on a day where I was struggling with everything.
My jewelry box is pretty full with items I’ve bought and gifts I’ve received. Some of the gifts are from people that have passed. Do I really need six necklaces, 10 bracelets and about 20 pairs of earrings from ONE of my grandmothers? Probably not, but I have them. I have quilts that have been passed down and some crystal pieces and I don’t even collect either of these things! After seeing that simple statement I made a vow to de-clutter. Minimize. THROW AWAY or donate everything that isn’t serving me.
I’m aware that it needs to stop coming in as well. It should just happen that I read something I can use when shopping just seems like the right thing to do.
Questions to ask before you purchase:
- How will this fit in with what I already have?
- Am I caught in the moment?
- Can it be of real use to me?
Thank you Oprah for your bits of wisdom as well. This week I unloaded 6 bags of the boys clothes. My little man was jumped up in size but he’s growing fast anyway. This week and the weeks following I will unload more. My husband mentioned downsizing our house and going with something smaller. All of these things are aligning to a new beginning, one with moments not things and I am completely on board.
When it all comes down to it, it’s either my sanity or things and I choose sanity.